^lii'it'U' 


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» 


GIFT  or 


Contents. 

^  The  prophecy.  1794.  By  Dr.  Timothy  Dwight.  (Poem). 

*^  Assernblv  bill  no.  49.  Introduced  by  Mr.  Holden  Dec. 
18,  1865.  An  act  to  establish  an  agricultural  anc 
mechanical  arts  college  in  Sonoma  County. 

•^3  Agricultural  college.  Address  of  Hon.  A.  A.  Sargenl 
Sept.  21,  1865. 

t^4.  Report  of  the  Committee  cof  the  Senates  on  /State 
university  to  whom  was  referred  memorial  of  the 
Mechanics   institute  of  San  Francisco.   Feb.  10,  If 


Mining  sdhools  in, the  U.  S.,  by  J.  A.  Church.  1871. 
(U.C.  P.21-''  ----- 

Jan.  1R71). 


(u,C,  p^2}.-22y  (Repr.  fr. 'North  American  review. 


^  Report  con  the  Oakland  college  block  property.  Nov.] 
1871. 

^  Our  state  university  and  th«  aspirant  to  the  preside 
cby  Gustavus  Schultei  1872. 

'^  Columbia's  wrath,  not  sparing  the  Regents  of  the  Sts 
university  of  California  coy  Gustavus  Schulte  187^ 

\^  The  resip^nation  of  the  Board  of  regents,  (the  ex-ofi 
members  excepted)  dictated  by  a  sense  of  honor  and 
duty  cby  Gustavus  Schulte ^  1874, 

^0   Reply  of  D.  C.  ^ilman  to  criticisms  of  the  Univ.  of 
California  made  by  the  Rev.  Robert  Patterson,  of 
Oakland.  cl8733  (With  two  letters  concerning  same, 

wil  Report  on  the  water  supply  of  the  Univ.  of  Californ: 
cby  Frank  Soule,jr.:»  1874, 

vl2  Report  on  the  water  supply  of  the  Univ.  of  Calif orm 
cby  a  special  committee  of  the  Regents 3  Dec.  1877, 

kI3  Report  of  the  Committees  on  pu- lie  buildings  and 
grounds  of  the  Senate  and  Assembly,  c 1875-76 3. 

*^14  Majority  and  minority  reports  of  the  Senate  committf 
on  education  relative  to  Assembly  bill  no.  374, 
cl875-765  (Concerning  abolition  of  Board  of  regenl 
etc. 3). 

*46  Report  of  the  Com-^ittee  on  education  to  the  As^embl^ 
!2d  session.  cl878i. 


^6  Report'  of  the  Senate  committee  on  ediacation.  Feb.  1,1 

»^17  Report  of  the  cAssemblyi  committee  on  education.  Fel 
1883. 

18  Report  of  cA's^aemblvD  committee  on  Agricultural,  Minn 
and  Mechanics  arts  college.  Feb. 13,  1883. 


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AGRICULTURAL    COLLEGE, 


A.DDRESS 


OF 


HON.  A.  A.  SARGENT, 


DELIVERED    BEFORE 


THE  STATE  AGRICULTURAL  SOCIETY, 


SEPTEMBER    21,    1865. 


SACRAMENTO 


O.  M.  CLAYES,  STATE  PRINTER. 
18  6  6. 


AGRICULTURAL   COLLEGE. 


ADDEESS  OF  HON.  A.  A.  SARGENT, 

DELIVERED    BEFORE    THE    STATE    AGRICULTURAL    SOCIETY,    SEPTEMBER    21,    1865. 


Ladies  and  Gentlemen  : — I  have  been  requested  by  the  officers  of 
the  State  Agricultural  Society  to  address  you  upon  the  education  of  the 
industrial  classes,  with  particular  reference  to  the  means  by  which  the 
legislation  of  Congress  granting  land  for  an  agricultural  college  may  be 
made  available  to  the  State.  It  occurs  to  me  that  a  report  would  be 
a  more  convenient  form  in  which  to  present  suggestions  upon  a  subject 
of  this  character;  but  I  comply  with  their  request.  The  advantages  of 
a  thorough  education  for  those  who  discharge  the  practical  duties  of 
life,  who  give  motive  power  to  all  industries,  and  therebj^  create  the 
prosperity  and  enhance  the  security  of  the  commonwealth,  need  scarcely 
be  discussed.  They  are  to  a  considerable  extent  secured  in  this  country 
by  a  broad  diffusion  of  elementary  knowledge  and  better  fiacilities  for 
the  scientific  training  of  youth.  The  lights  that  once  shone  0!ily  on  the 
apex  of  the  social  structure  have  gradually  gleamed  downward,  relieving 
the  shadows  at  the  base.  The  result  has  been  stimulated  invention, 
higher  virtue  and  self-respect  diffused  through  society,  and  intelligent 
patriotism,  which  has  given  strength  to  the  national  arm  and  steadiness 
to  the  national  will  during  the  desolating  struggle  through  which  we 
have  passed. 

The  spot  where  we  are  assembled  is  one  of  no  ordinary  interest. 
Here,  within  the  memory  of  nearly-  all  of  us,  a  busy  city  has  grown  up. 
A  few  years  ago  the  occasional  visitant  found,  as  the  only  evidence  of 
civilization,  the  little  fort  whose  ruins  are  still  in  the  outskirts  of*  thig 
city,  where  Sutter  traded  with  the  vanishing  Indian  tribes.  In  this 
great  inland  valley,  hemmed  in  by  the  Coast  Eange  and  the  Sierra  Ne- 
vadas,  were  widely  separated,  here  and  there,  the  rude  homesteads  of 
pioneers.  Now,  the  Sacramento  and  San  Joaquin  roll  their  waters 
through  hundreds  of  miles  of  cultivated  fields;  and  thriving  towns  and 
cities  have  started  into  existence  on  their  banks.  Central  among  them 
all,  because  the  centre  of  the  creative  railroad  interest,  and  the  piincipal 
inlet  of  the  trade  that  flows  into  the  mountain  communities,  and  over 
the  mountains  to  the  empire  beyond,  is  this  city  which  now  spreads  out 


2 

iron  arms  in  three  directions  to  embrace  the  country,  and  chiefly  aspires 
to  the  honor  of  urging  onward  that  great  enterprise  which  shall  bind 
the  continent  in  everlasting  bonds  of  fraternity,  and  give  new  direction 
to  the  exchanges  and  industries  of  the  world.  Sixteen  3'ears  have  wit- 
nessed greater  changes  on  the  margin  of  jonder  river  than  the  world 
can  elsewhere  show  in  the  same  space  of  time.  What  may  we  not  expect 
of  sixteen  years  to  come  !  By  that  time  one  or  two  Pacific  railroads 
will  have  broken  through  the  inclosing  mountains,  and  their  impetuous 
tides  of  travel  and  business  will  ebb  and  flow  through  this  cit}'.  Then, 
perhaps,  Oregon  will  be  united  to  you  bj'  the  iron  bonds  of  a  railway, 
two  links  of  which  are  already  forged.  The  railroad  that  will  skirt  the 
bays,  and  the  steamers  that  will  crowd  the  Sacramento,  will  connect  you 
more  intimately  with  the  great  Queen  City  of  the  Pacific,  then  doubled 
or  trebled  in  population  and  wealth,  and  fairly  started  on  that  great 
career  of  prosperity  that  will  build  up  a  city  within  the  Golden  Gate  to 
rival  the  proudest  capitals  of  trade  the  world  can  boast. 

Some  observers  complain  that  the  population  of  this  State  decreases, 
and  seek  for  remedies  in  financial  experiments,  or  by  disturbing  the 
tenures  to  the  vast  mining  property  of  the  coast.  But  it  is  apparent 
that  our  people  have  fed  the  growing  numbers  of  other  mining  States 
and  Territories  ;  that  Nevada  was  born  of  California  ;  that  Washington, 
Idaho,  Montana,  and  Arizona,  deplete  our  population  ;  that  Mexico  has 
attracted  many  of  the  most  adventurous  of  our  people.  This  drain  upon 
our  population  has  been  caused  by  inducements  held  out  by  the 
undoubted  richness  of  those  regions,  and  b}'  the  fact  that  a  few  dry 
winters  have  injured  our  miners  and  agriculturists.  But  our  State  is 
prosperous,  and  its  future  is  assured.  Exhaustless  veins,  rich  in  gold, 
are  at  our  feet,  almost  untouched  by  the  miner;  vast  placer  fields  still 
pay  tribute  to  labor;  and  our  fertile  valleys,  wealthy  of  golden  grain, 
and  blushing  with  luscious  fruits,  promise  ample  reward  to  skilled  and 
patient  enterprise.  The  great  remedies  for  our  depleting  population  are 
increased  manufacturing  enterprises,  in  which  our  State  has  already-  val- 
uable interests,  and  the  completion  of  the  railroad  that  will  bring  to  us 
a  strong  tide  of  emigration  from  the  East,  and  pour  it  out  along  the  line 
of  the  road  into  the  territories  that  now  wait,  like  ourselves,  for  more 
laborers  to  develop  their  resources — an  emigration  now  deterred  by  a 
sickly  Isthmus  trip,  or  discouraged  by  the  hundreds  of  miles  of  weary 
journeyings  over  the  plains.  The  communities  in  the  interior  of  the  con- 
tinent, which  we  have  created  and  fed  by  our  very  life-blood,  will  make 
rich  markets  for  our  products,  and  return  therefor  their  abundant  silver 
and  gold.  We  are  yet  at  the  dawn  of  our  greatness  as  a  State,  and  I 
read  no  ominous  signs  in  this  our  morning  sky. 

Yet,  great  as  is  our  need  of  more  population,  its  influx  would  be  unde- 
sirable if  it  merely  swelled  the  too  large  class  of  non-producers  of  this 
State — its  force  of  unemployed  labor.  Hundreds  of  men  hang  about  our 
towns,  engaged  in  no  useful  employment,  listless  and  drifting  year  after 
year.  With  abundant  opportunities  for  labor,  they  seem  to  lack  the  dis- 
position or  energy  to  better  their  condition  or  be  of  use  to  the  State.  If 
they  could  be  drafted  into  the  army  of  workers  it  would  be  better  for 
them  and  the  community. 

To  guard  against  accessions  to  this  class,  more  correct  information  of 
the  real  condition  of  things  on  this  coast  should  be  disseminated  in  the 
East.  We  have  painted  to  the  imagination  of  the  world  the  riches  of 
our  domain  in  such  glowing  colors"  that  manj^  who  came  here  on  our 
representations  expected  to  pick  up  gold  on  the  hillsides,  and  to  make 


speed}^  fortunes  without  capital  or  labor.  Disappointment  waits  on  all 
such.  The  day  of  rich  surface  diggings  has  passed.  The  miner  must 
now  toil  early  and  late,  and  he  is  considered  fortunate  if  each  ounce  of 
gold  does  not  cost  much  of  its  value  in  extracting  it.  He  must  penetrate 
the  centre  of  the  mountains  with  his  rock  tunnels,  and  sink  shafts  deep 
beneath  the  surface,  to  find  the  yellow  deposit.  Improved  machinery 
and  laborious  application  are  essential  to  his  success,  with  constant  hazard 
of  failure.  Prosperity  thus  toil-earned  is  better  for  individuals  and  the 
communit}^  than  the  flush  times  of  our  early  experience.  Money  then 
came  easily,  and  was  spent  i'rce]y.  Eecklessness  in  expenditures  and  too 
general  dissipation  prevailed.  Gilded  gambling  hells  were  scattered 
through  all  our  cities  and  mining  camps,  affording  facilities  for  casting 
away  the  prodigal  harvest  gathered  from  thousands  of  claims  where  the 
gold  glittered  among  the  grass  roots.  Such  a  state  of  things  could  not 
but  be  corrupting  to  the  virtue  and  manhood  of  individuals  and  disas- 
trous to  society.  Now,  mining  has  resolved  itself  into  a  business  which 
generally  yields  fair  returns  only  to  economical  and  intelligent  enterprise. 

The  farmer's  skill  and  labor  are  rewarded  by  ample  returns;  but 
ISTature,  here  as  elsewhere,  needs  the  inducement  of  honest  industry  to 
^neld  her  favors. 

Those  who  come  here  under  such  delusions  soon  become  discouraged 
by  the  reality.  Then  they  are  apt  to  fall  into  the  crowds  of  small  gam- 
blers and  other  hangers-on  at  saloons,  to  increase  the  purchasable 
material  at  elections,  and  many  become  lost  to  all  the  proprieties  of  life. 
The  great  business  interests  of  the  State  move  on  independent  of  this 
class — a  rushing  current  sweeping  past  stagnant  waters. 

It  should  be  our  aim  to  truthfully  depict  the  condition  of  things  upon 
this  coast,  that  those  who  come  here  may  know  that  while  labor  reaps 
a  higher  reward  here  than  elsewhere,  the  labor  must  be  furnished  to 
merit  or  receive  the  reward.  We  shall  thereby  not  only  secure  an 
industrial  class  of  population,  but  also  educate  them  before  they  arrive 
in  ideas  very  material  to  their  own  and  the  State's  interest. 

It  is  well  for  the  State  that  the  drones  are  outnumbered  by  the 
industrious  workers  of  society;  and  it  is  far  pleasanter  to  turn  to  the 
contemplation  of  the  scenes  around  us  than  to  dwell  upon  the  considera- 
tions I  have  suggested.  While  this  spot  is  remarkable  as  the  centre  of 
so  man}^  interests  growing  into  importance,  and  as  the  Capital  of  a  great 
State,  the  scenes  by  which  w^e  are  surrounded  are  peculiarly  pleasing  and 
suggestive,  because  they  are  apt  illustrations  of  the  value  of  intelligent 
labor.  Here  are  gathered  the  lavish  abundance  of  cultivated  nature, 
the  fruits  and  flowers  of  this  productive  soil  and  genial  clime;  the 
mechanisms  that  almost  think  as  they  work;  the  noblest  specimens  of 
animal  life,  and  a  vast  concourse  of  intelligent  men  and  women,  who 
represent  a  powerful  and  growing  State. 

"  We  come  with  firstlings  of  our  grain  and  flocks, 
With  luscious  fruit  whose  tint  the  sunset  mocks, 
With  rare  (inventions,  and  with  cunning  tools, 
With  choicest  fabrics  of  our  mills  and  spools, 
And  many  things  by  mind  and  fingers  wrought, 
Born  of  a  tasteful  or  a  useful  thought ; 
All  these  to  offer  'neath  a  common  fane 
In  generous  rivalry,  for  praise,  not  gain ; 
While  mingling  gratulations  for  the  yield 
Of  liberal  orchard,  vineyard,  fold,  and  field." 

These  displays  are  the  result  and  evidence  of  modern  civilization. 
Greece  and  Kome  had  their  festivals  and  games;  but  their  recognition 


of  nature  was  pronounced  in  orgies  which  the  pen  now  refuses  to 
i, describe;  their  hi^-hest  aim  the  development  of  the  athlete  in  qualities 
now  chiefly  prized  in  the  thoroughbred.  This  development  may  have 
been  necessary  when  the  pressing  ambition  of  chiefs,  and  the  perpetual 
bickering  of  States,  made  every  man  a  soldier;  when  weapons  were 
rude;  when  power  of  arm  to  cast  the  spear,  and  fleetness  of  foot  to 
advance  or  retreat,  gave  victory  or  retrieved  disaster.  Our  civilization 
has  a  nobler  meaning,  founded  on  universally  diffused  intelligence.  We 
.recognize  the  power  that  knowledge  has  in  enabling  man  to  master 
J  nature;  guiding  its  immense  energies  to  labor  in  his  service,  freeing  his 
mind  from  superstitious,  and  creating  beauty  and  prosperity  in  manifold 
forms  in  our  broad  commonwealths.  Look  around  you,  and  see  the  result 
of  enlightened  industry.  Look  out  into  the  world  for  the  effects  of  that 
inventive  development  which  has  seized  on  the  wildest  forces  of  nature, 
as  steam  and  lightning,  and  taught  the  one  to  labor  in  the  workshop, 
field,  and  mine;  to  draw  the  loaded  car,  or  plough  the  deep  with  swift 
obedience;  and  the  other  to  flash  intelligence  across  oceans,  and  circle 
the  earth,  pregnant  with  thought.  The  rude  forces  that  once  spoke  only 
in  terror  to  man,  enfeebling  his  mind  with  their  awful  manifestations, 
seemingly  the  work  of  subtle  and  fiendish  spirits,  now  calmly  labor  in 
bis  service.  His  intellectual  nature  is  emancipated,  and  vindicates  its 
mastership  over  all  earthly  created  things;  for  intelligence  has  allured 
these  invisible  and  impalpable  agencies  to  the  use  of  man,  adding  to  his 
industrial  strength  beyond  estimate.  So  the  cunning  hand  of  the  arti- 
san, informed  by  education  and  experience,  gives  being  and  purpose  to 
mj'riad  forms  of  machinery,  which  perform  the  labor  of  the  farm  and 
workshop,  and  illustrate  this  age  as  the  noblest  the  world  has  ever  seen 
in  the  development  of  science  applied  to  the  uses  of  everj'day  life.  The 
economy  of  time  and  labor  produced  by  modern  machinery  is  wonderful. 
The  work  of  one  hundred  millions  of  men  is  performed  by  machinery  in 
Massachusetts  alone,  in  a  single  j^ear. 
r^^^  jN'ot  only  has  intelligence  given  us  control  over  the  subtle  elements  that 
r.pnce  roamed  destructively  and  masterless  around  the  pendant  globe,  the 
objects  of  fear  to  abject  superstition  ;  not  only  has  it  evoked  from  the 
forest  and  mine  the  cunning  mechanisms  that  plough  and  reap,  that 
measure  and  weave,  that  dig,  and  sew,  and  print;  but  it  has  beautified 
our  homes,  enhanced  our  comforts,  conserved  our  health,  lengthened  our 
lives,  made  life  desirable  by  many  additions  to  its  enjoyments,  and  added 
to  our  resources,  our  wealth,  and  our  power.  "  The  educated  man,"  says 
Carlysle,  "stands  in  the  midstof  a  boundless  arsenal  and  magazine,  filled 
with  all  the  w^eapons  man's  skill  has  been  able  to  devise  from  the  earliest 
time;  and  he  works  accordingly  with  a  strength  borrowed  from  all  past 
ages." 

in  no  department  of  human  industry  has  education  produced  more  val- 
uable results,  or  may  more  future  benefit  from  it  be  expected,  than  among 
agriculturists.  Sir  Humphrey  Davy  once  remarked,  when  speaking*  of 
the  iuture  influence  of  agricultural  chemistry,  that  "nothing  is  impossi- 
ble to  labor  aided  by  science.  The  objects  of  the  skillful  agriculturist 
are  like  those  of  the  thoughtful  patriot.  Men  valfie  most  what  they  have 
gained  with  effort,  and  a  just  confidence  in  their  own  powers  results  from 
success.  They  love  their  country  better  because  they  have  seen  it  im- 
proved by  their  own  talents  and  industry,  and  they  identify  with  their 
own  interests  the  existence  of  those  institutions  and  pursuits  which  have 
afforded  them  security,  independence,  and  the  multi])lied  enjoyments  of 
civilized  life."     Of  so  much  imjportance  to  the  community  is  the  subject 


of  education  in  reference  to  agricultural  pursuits,  that  our  national  and 
State  Legislatures  have  fostered  it  by  well  intentioned  legislation,  and 
by  occasional  grants  and  subsidies.  The  idea  is  being  exploded  that  the 
niere  rudiments  of  education  are  all  that  are  necessary  for  the  boy  who 
intends  to  be  a  farmer.  There  is  no  pursuit  in  life  where  thorough 
instruction,  especially  in  the  physical  sciences,  is  more  needed  ;  none 
where  scientific  and  practical  knowledge  more  increases  man's  power- 
not  for  the  purpose  of  compact  and  elegant  farming  merely,  but  to  pre- 
serve our  vast  agricultural  domain  from  waste,  to  renew  the  powers  of 
nature  with  adequate  fertilizers,  to  bring  our  domestic  animals  to  higher 
perfection,  and  extend  the  range  of  useful  productions.  By  thus  devel- 
oping and  preserving  the  wealth  of  the  soil,  we  promote  the  prosperity 
and  progress  of  the  country.  To  do  all  this  effectually,  the  farmer  needs 
contributions  from  every  branch  of  science,  and  aid  from  every  art. 
Genius,  as  well  as  industry,  is  needed;  intelligent  and  patient  experi- 
mentalism  to  discover  the  abstruse  processes  of  nature,  and  apply  them 
to  everyday  use.  And  the  want  is  not  for  a  few  scientific  agriculturists 
merely,  but  that  the  great  body  of  farmers  shall  have  that  practical  and 
experimental  knowledge  that  will  call  to  their  aid  all  the  resources  of 
nature.  Where  a  pursuit  is  the  basis  of  all  others,  no  improvement  that 
can  be  secured  for  it  is  to  be  neglected.  For'adequate  improvement  a 
State  University,  founded  on  a  proper  basis,  commensurate  in  extent 
with  the  number  of  scholars  for  such  an  institution  the  State  can  furnish, 
with  professors  of  the  highest  attainment,  and  furnished  with  ample 
means  of  experiment,  should  be  erected  in  our  midst;  an  institution 
that  will  supply  to  the  future  farmers  of  our  State  that  scientific  and 
practical  knowledge  of  their  profession  which  cannot  otherwise  be 
obtained,  and  make  all  means  of  knowledge  tributary  to  the  elevation 
and  efficiency  of  their  pursuit.  Our  ordinary  educational  institutions 
furnish  instruction  within  a  certain  range,  and  within  their  sphere  are 
invaluable.  But  something  beyond  that  range  was  in  the  mind  of  Con- 
gress when  it  made  a  grant  of  land  to  each  State  for  the  purpose  of  a 
college  that  should  have,  "  for  its  leading  object,  \yithout  excluding  other 
scientific  and  classical  studies,  and  including  military  tactics,  to  teach 
such  branches  of  learning  as  are  related  to  agriculture  and  the  mechanic 
arts,  in  order  to  promote  the  liberal  and  practical  education  of  the  indus- 
trial classes  in  the  several  pursuits  and  professions  in  life."  If  less  than 
this  is  aimed  at,  the  project  had  better  be  abandoned  ;  for  all  that  is  less 
than  this  is  supplied  by  our  ordinary  schools  and  colleges,  and  better 
supplied,  each  year.  The  object  in  view  is  to  reach  the  industrial  classes 
with  practical  knowledge  useful  in  their  various  pursuits,  and  chiefly  the 
agriculturist. 

Who  are  the  industrial  classes?  They  are  not  merely  the  men  who 
hold  the  plough  or  strike  the  anvil.  They^  are  not  only  the  laborers  who 
furnish  muscle  to  mechanical  pursuits  The  designation  includes  the 
men  of  combining  mind  and  inventive  genius,  who  penetrate  the  domain 
of  nature  and  adapt  its  great  forces  and  principles  to  human  needs. 
Thus  Franklin,  investigating  and  experimenting  upon  electricity  and 
lightning,  and  practically  applying  his  brilliant  discoveries  by  producing 
the  lightning  rod,  was  as  clearly  identified  thereby  with  the  industrial 
classes  as  when  he  set  type  or  worked  the  rude  old  printing  press.  When  . 
Morse  demonstrated  the  practicability  and  utility  of  electro-magnetic 
telegraphs,  he  vindicated  his  right  to  be  ranked  among  the  most  eminent 
of  the  industrial  benefactors  of  mankind.  The  elder  Brunei,  the  son  of 
a  farmer,  whether  inventing  machinery  to  cut  blocks  for  the  rigging  of 


6 

ships,  or  engineering  his  Thames  tunnel  amid  immense  difBculties,  in  all 
he  undertook  distinguished  by  untiring  perseverance  and  inexhaustible 
fertility  of  invention,  gave  evidence  of  the  benefit  of  education  to  this 
class,  as  did  the  younger  Brunei  when  he  invented  the  broad-gauge 
locomotive,  and  constructed  the  Great  Eastern  and  Leviathan,  Tlae 
Stepbensons,  elder  and  younger,  illustrious  for  their  mechanical  inven- 
tions and  magnificent  structures,  shed  imperishable  honor  on  the  indus- 
trial classes.  Sir  Humphrey  Dav^'  takes  this  rank  b}'  his  electro-chemical 
researches  and  discoveries,  not  less  than  by  his  invention  of  a  safety 
lamp  which  has  saved  the  lives  of  thousands. 

Kinglake,  an  English  historian  of  the  Crimean  war,  whose  able  work 
has  excited  much  notice,  objects  to  the  application  of  the  phrases  ''  true 
honor"  and  "true  glory"  to  men  like  these,  as  a  desecration  of  terms, 
which  he  deems  should  not  be  borrowed  for  such  a  purpose  from  warlike 
heroes.  He  ridicules  the  "extravagant  veneration  of  mechanical  con- 
trivances" and  glory  of  the  mechanic  arts  which  were  indulged  when 
the  "  cathedral  of  glass,"  or  Crystal  Palace,  climbed  high  over  the  stately 
elms  at  Knightsbridge.  In  the  magnificent  exhibition  of  the  industries 
of  all  nations,  he  saw  signs  which  might  lead  to  the  conclusion  that 
England  was  failing  in  her  ancient  spirit.  In  his  view  "  an  army  is  but 
the  limb  of  a  nation,  and  it  is  no  more  given  to  a  people  to  combine  the 
possession  of  military  strength  with  an  unmeasured  devotion  to  the  arts 
of  peace,  than  it  is  for  a  man  to  be  feeble  and  helpless  in  the  general 
condition  of  his  bodj',  and  3'et  to  have  at  his  command  a  strong  right 
arm  for  the  convenience  of  self-defence."  How  false  his  theories  are 
our  own  national  experience  amply  shows.  What  more  sublime  instance 
of  devotion,  patriotism,  and  courage  has  the  world  ever  seen  than  that 
displayed  by  the  American  people  during  the  desolating  struggle  through 
which  this  nation  has  passed  !  We  had  been  deeply  engrossed  in  the 
pursuit  of  wealth,  devoted  to  the  arts  of  peace,  were  unused  to  war,  but 
were  not  corrupted  or  enfeebled.  From  the  farm,  the  workshop,  the 
profession,  our  people  poured  forth  in  countless  numbers  to  sustain  the 
national  arm,  and  vindicate  the  national  cause.  Amid  discouragements 
and  disasters,  the  frown  of  Europe  darkening  our  cause,  with  accumu- 
lating debt  weighing  heavily  on  the  resources  of  the  country,  with  hope 
deferred  by  seemingly  endless  sacrifices,  our  people  evinced  a  heroic 
and  king-like  power  and  constancy,  and  vindicated  the  power  of  a  people 
among  whom  labor  is  honored  to  preserve  their  liberties  and  the  integ- 
rity of  their  country.  Devotion  to  the  arts  of  peace  may  be  immeas- 
urable, and  not  inconsistent  with  spirit  and  excellence  in  war. 

The  eminent  men  whom  I  have  named  are  illustrious  instances  of  the 
power  of  genius  applied  to  mechanical  and  scientific  pursuits,  and  some 
of  them  furnish  examples  of  the  power  of  intellect  in  creating  for  itself 
distinction  in  spite  of  defective  education.  Franklin  relates  that  he  lived 
on  vegetable  diet  to  save  a  few  pence  from  his  da}' 's  wages  for  the  pur- 
chase of  books,  learned  a  little  geometry  from  a  treatise  on  navigation  that 
he  picked  up  at  a  bookstall,  and  got  his  clear  and  powerful  style  by 
studying  the  Spectator.  Perhaps  his  experience  in  a  printing  office,  that 
excellent  school,  supplied  the  lack  of  other  teaching,  or  his  powerful 
mental  organization  needed  little  extrinsic  aid  to  produce  admired  results 
in  physical  and  political  science.  What  more  Franklin  might  have  accom- 
plished with  thorough  education  cannot  be  estimated.  George  Stephen- 
son began  life  in  poverty.  He  was  a  self  educated  inventor.  He  created 
English  railroading,  and  perfected  the  locomotive  engine.  But  the  genius 
of  his  son,  apparently  of  the  same  character,  was  carefully  cultivated  by 


7 

the  best  instructors,  and  took  a  broader  sweep.  The  finest  engineering 
successes  of  the  world  owe  their  existence  to  his  splendid  conceptions 
and  execution. 

Capacity  to  achieve  such  brilliant  results  is  rare,  but  is  confined  to  no 
class  of  men.  There  is  as  little  a  royal  road  to  genius  as  to  learning. 
General  education  will  reveal  it.  The  benefits  to  the  world  of  the  labors 
and  discoveries  of  one  such  man  outweigh  all  the  cost  of  the  education 
of  a  generation.  But  while  such  splendid  issue  may  be  rarely  expected 
from  thoroui^h  education,  the  stimulus  of  intellectual  culture  upon  average 
minds  is  strikingly  marked  b}^  the  constant  improvements  in  every  branch 
of  mechanics,  as  witnessed  by  the  patents  issued  by  the  Government,  and 
the  fact  that  those  States  which  have  carried  instruction  to  the  greatest 
extent  furnish  the  greatest  proportion  of  inventors.  Look  over  any  list 
of  patents  issued,  and  you  will  see  evidence  of  restless  intellectual  activity 
among  our  mechanics  in  improvements  upon  every  conceivable  article  of 
use  or  luxury — from  a  pencil-sharpener  to  a  piano-forte  ;  from  a  cheese- 
press  to  a  steam  fire-engine;  from  a  horse-rake  to  a  quartz-crusher. 
Wherever  there  is  a  want,  invention  struggles  to  supply  it.  A  thousand 
busy  brains  contend  with  any  obstacle  until  it  is  removed.  The  vast 
grain  fields  of  the  West  required  facilities  superior  to  the  sickle  and 
cradle,  and  lo,  the  reaper!  that  sheared  by  the  acre.  The  demand  for  rapid 
communication  created  the  steamer,  the  railroad,  the  telegraph.  The 
war  demanded  destructive  agencies,  and  its  wildest  energies  had  gratifi- 
cation in  swamp  angels,  monitors,  and  repeating  arms.  Agriculture  has 
had  its  share  of  the  benefit  of  its  improved  machinery,  in  the  useful  experi- 
ments which  have  been  made  in  the  nature  of  soils,  the  value  of  fertili- 
zers, the  improvement  of  stock,  the  introduction  and  propagation  of  new 
and  valuable  plants,  and,  in  fact,  in  every  department  of  its  extensive 
domain.  Intelligence  has  done  much  to  direct  the  labor  of  the  farmer, 
and  much  more  to  lighten  it.  Yet,  after  all  the  discoveries  and  improve- 
ments in  this  great  branch  of  industry,  how  much  remains  to  be  known  ! 
Natural  laws  are  infinite,  and  their  application  to  the  uses  of  life  immeasu- 
rable. We  must  yet  acknowledge  our  ignorance  of  these  laws,  and  our 
perplexity  at  their  familiar  operations.  Science,  practical  and  specula- 
tive, was  bafiled  at  the  potato  rot  and  the  cattle  disease,  and  has  never 
certainly  discovered  the  causes  or  remedies.  Organic  husbandry  is  one 
of  the  richest  departments  of  science,  and  yet  is  almost  wholly  in  its 
infancy.  And  of  that  which  is  known  of  agricultural  chemistry,  of  vege- 
table and  animal  production,  of  physics,  meteorology,  vegetable  and  ani- 
mal physiology,  and  geology,  ail  necessary  to  be  known  for  thorough 
farming,  there  is  less  of  scientific  application  than  in  any  other  pursuit 
capable  of  being  enriched  by  research.  This  is  so  because  it  is  easy  to  be 
a  careless  farmer,  and  even  an  ignorant  one,  and  yet  to  be  moderately 
successful,  where  nature  does  most  of  the  work  herself,  and  does  not 
immediately  resent  and  punish  a  violation  of  her  laws.  To  extend  a 
knowledge  of  nature's  operations,  and  of  the  laws  which  govern  them, 
and  to  enforce  the  practical  application  of  the  discoveries  of  science  in 
this  broad  department,  generous  facilities  must  be  afi'orded  for  experi- 
ment and  instruction. 

To  aid  this  object,  an  Act  of  Congress  of  eighteen  hundred  and  sixty- 
two  provides  for  the  establishment  of  colleges  of  agriculture  and  the 
mechanic  arts  in  such  of  the  States  as  avail  themselves  of  its  provisions, 
and  grants  to  each  State  thirty  thousand  acres  of  land  for  each  Senator 
and  Kepresentative  in  Congress  under  the  apportionment  of  that  J^ear, 
to  be  selected  from  the  public  lands  within  the  State  subject  to  sale  at 


8 

one  dollar  and  twenty-five  cents  per  acre,  if  these  be  sufficient,  and  if  not, 
then  the  State  is  to  receive  land  scrip  for  the  requisite  amount.  The 
principal  derived  from  the  sale  of  these  lands  is  to  be  invested  in  stocks 
yielding  not  less  than  five  per  cent,  and  the  interest  to  be  appropriated 
to  the  endowment  of  a  college  for  the  liberal  and  practical  education  of 
the  industrial  classes.  The  principal  fund  is  to  remain  inviolable,  except 
that  ten  per  cent  of  it  may  be  expended  for  the  purchase  of  land  for  a 
site,  or  experimental  farm;  but  no  portion  of  the  fund  is  to  be  applied  to 
the  purchase,  erection,  or  repair  of  any  building.  The  States  were 
required  by  the  Act  to  express  their  acceptance  of  its  benefits  within  two 
years  after  its  passage,  and  to  provide  within  five  years  at  least  one 
college  of  the  character  stipulated.  Our  State  Legislature  accepted  the 
benefits  of  this  Act  by  joint  resolution  passed  in  eighteen  hundred  and 
sixty-three,  but  has  taken  no  steps  toward  providing  a  college.  Under 
this  Act  the  State  is  entitled  to  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  acres  of 
land.  This  sounds  like  a  munificient  gift,  and  was  such  an  intention; 
but  it  is  qualified  by  the  provision  that  this  land  is  granted  onl}^  after 
survey,  and  from  lands  subject  to  private  entry;  that  is,  from  those  only 
which  have  been  ofi^ered  at  private  sale  and  no  purchaser  been  found; 
which  in  this  vState  could  be  of  but  little  value.  Besides,  the  United 
States  makes  no  surveys  of  its  lands  here  unless  the  fees  of  its  officers 
are  advanced  by  the  parties  desiring  the  surveys.  The  grant  of  land  to 
this  State,  to  be  selected  within  its  borders,  is  not  likely  to  be  available 
for  any  purpose  except  to  promote  litigation  and  uncertainty,  if  we  may 
judge  by  the  present  condition  of  titles  to  land  heretofore  nominally 
granted  to  the  State,  but  really  withheld  from  it  by  the  failure  of  Gov- 
ernment officers  to  provide  for  its  segregation. 

By  the  report  of  the  State  Surveyor-Creneral  of  eighteen  hundred  and 
sixty-four,  it  is  shown  that  of  all  the  grants  of  land  to  this  State  for 
various  purposes,  not  a  single  acre  of  an}'  description  has  been  listed  or 
patented  to  the  State,  although  all  the  duties  required  of  the  State 
officers  have  been  zealously  performed  for  fourteen  years,  and  very 
much  of  the  land  has  been  sold  b}'  the  State.  Notwithstanding  frequent 
attempts  <»f  the  State  Legislature  to  remedj"  the  difficult}',  and  equita- 
ble decisions  of  our  Supreme  Court,  the  titles  of  nine  thousand  citizens, 
pioneer  purchasers,, are  in  an  inchoate  state,  subject  to  attack,  a  frequent 
source  of  litigation,  and  consequent  distress  and  poverty.  The  pros- 
perity of  the  State  must  be  greatly  damaged  by  this  unsettled,  uncertain 
condition  of  titles,  for  thriftlessness  must  result.  The  only  remedy  is 
further  legislation  by  Congress  to  compel  the  subordinate  officers  at 
Washington  to  comply  with  the  terms  of  donation,  and  rescue  the  titles 
of  our  farmers  from  embarrassing  uncertainty.  I  am  not  hopeful  that 
the  State  can  realize  for  many  years  to  come  any  substantial  benefits 
from  the  grant  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  acres  for  an  agricul- 
tural college.  The  public  lands  heretofore  ceded  to  the  State  for  specific 
purposes  must  first  be  segregated,  and  the  titles  granted  by  the  State  in 
good  faith  be  recognized  by  the  Government.  The  remainder  must  be 
surveyed  and  brought  into  market.  Such  portions  as  then  fail  to  find 
purchasers  will  be  subject  to  private  entry,  and  will  be  available  under 
the  college  grant  for  what  they  are  worth.  The  lands  granted  for  the 
purposes  of  this  college  will  thus  be  the  very  last  in  the  State  upon 
which  there  can  be  anything  realized,  and  nothing  can  be  expected  from 
this  source  for  a  long  time  to  come.  Yet  by  the  Act  we  are  required  to 
establish  the  college  within  five  years  from  the  passage  of  the  Act,  or 
we  shall  forfeit  the  donation.      The  next  Legislature   must  take  the 


9\ 

requisite  steps  for  this  purpose,  or  we  lose  whatever  advantages  may  be 
derived  from  the  grant. 

The  benefits  of  the  Act  of  Congress  being  so  questionable  and  remote, 
is  it  the  best  policy  to  let  the  grant  relapse  by  inaction  ?  or  only  take 
such  action  as  shall  secure  the  gift,  and  wait  for  further  legislation  of 
Congress  to  make  it  available?  or  proceed  in  earnest  to  found  a  college 
that  shall  fill  the  conception  of  Congress  and  prove  a  blessing  to  the 
State  ? 

It  seems  to  me  the  Legislature  will  not  desire  the  unpleasant  responsi- 
bility of  allowing  this  grant  to  be  lost  by  its  failure  to  take  the  necessary 
steps  to  secure  it.  The  time  will  come  when  there  will  be  lands  within 
the  State  available  under  this  grant;  and  if  not,  the  grantees  of  the 
State  may  use  the  scrip  in  other  States,  or  in  the  Territories.  The 
peculiar  complications  of  our  landed  interests  depending  on  congres- 
sional grants  would  disappear  with  judicious  legislation.  The  General 
Government  should  act  upon  the  yjrinciple  that  grants  of  land  to  the 
State  vested  an  interest  i'rom  their  date — that  the  Acts  of  Congress 
operated  as  conveyances.  This  would  be  equitable,  and  solve  the  diffi- 
culty, provided  it  would  also  adopt  the  extensive  surveys  made  by  the 
State  officers,  to  which  there  can  be  no  valid  objection,  and  then  list  the 
lands  to  the  State  which  the  latter  has  selected  and  sold,  for  the  benefit 
of  its  grantees. 

If  the  Legislature  shall  determine  that  it  is  not  best  to  forfeit  the 
grant  by  inaction,  such  a  result  may  be  averted,  in  my  judgment,  by  the 
passage  of  an  Act  providing  for  and  the  organization  of  a  Board  of 
Commissioners  for  the  location  and  establishment  of  a  college.  This 
Board  should  have  the  power  to  fix  the  location  of  the  college,  and  be 
authorized  to  accept  a  suitable  site.  I  do  not  understand  that  the 
requirement  that  the  State  shall  provide  a  college  in  five  years  involves 
the  necessity  that  the  college  shall  be  in  full  operation  in  that  time,  but 
simply  that  such  legislative  action  shall  be  taken  to  provide  for  a  college 
as  indicates  a  purpose  to  complj^  with  the  terms  of  the  grant.  By  this 
we  shall  gain  time  for  enforcing  upon  the  Government  proper  action  for 
confirming  the  rights  of  the  State  and  its  grantees  in  the  public  lands, 
and  for  making  this  grant  productive  for  the  purpose  intended. 

Is  it  the  best  plan  to  actually  establish  a  college,  realizing  as  far  as 
possible  the  requirements  of  the  Act  of  Congress,  at  the  expense  of  the 
State?  I  think  so,  for  the  benefits  of  such  an  institution  will  amply 
repay  the  cost;  but  the  State  should  understand  the  duty  it  assumes, 
and  the  necessity  of  making  continuously  the  requisite  appropriations. 
The  interest  of  the  Seminary  Fund  can  be  applied  to  this  purpose,  but 
there  must  be  liberal  appropriations  for  the  erection  of  the  necessary 
buildings,  the  preparation  of  an  experimental  farm,  and  the  employment 
of  competent  professors.  As  the  State  is  able  to  give  title  to  the  lands 
donated  by  Congress  for  the  purpose  of  such  a  college,  a  fund  will  be 
created,  and  the  interest  of  that  fund  will  lighten  the  burden.  Private 
donations  and  bequests  will  gradually  create  an  endowment  for  the  col- 
lege, until  it  becomes  independent  of  State  aid.  The  great  universities 
of  the  East  have  risen  from  small  beginnings  until  their  property  is 
valued  by  millions.  We  may  lay  the  foundation  of  a  great  university 
now,  and  do  much  toward  securing  for  it  a  useful  and  powerful  future. 
But  to  realize  the  great  needs  of  this  Pacific  empire  in  this  respect  will 
take  long  years  of  labor  and  patient  waiting.     We  may  expect  much 


10 

from  the  gratitude  of  the  future  towards  our  undertaking,  far  less  from 
the  present.  If  we  educate  the  youth  of  our  State  in  the  practical  duties 
of  life,  and  enrtbark  them  in  the  pursuit  of  science,  or  art,  and  of  wealth, 
we  may  reasonably  expect  that  the  benefits  conferred  will  be  remem- 
bered in  future  j^ears  by  those  who  look  back  upon  the  university  with 
affection,  and  that  gifts  and  bequests  will  enrich  its  endowments  and 
extend  its  usefulness.  This  has  been  the  experience  of  all  eminent  edu- 
cational institutions.  For  the  present,  a  few  public  spirited  men  may 
bestow  of  their  means  to  aid  in  the  establishment  of  a  college,  but  our 
principal  reliance  must  be  upon  the  State.  A  special  tax  of  seven  cents 
on  the  hundred  dollars  would  raise  a  fund  yearly  of  one  hundred  thou- 
sand dollars,  which  would  sustain  an  institution  of  the  character  I  shall 
describe,  with  moderate  tuition  fees,  and  which  I  deem  the  proper  foun- 
dation for  the  future  university.  The  tax  which  a  State  pays  for  the 
education  of  its  children  is  the  lightest  of  its  burdens,  and  the  most 
useful;  for  ignorance  is  an  implacable  foe  of  liberty  and  order,  the  fruit- 
ful parent  of  crime,  misery,  and  disgrace.  Every  dollar  expended  to 
elevate  the  character  and  enlighten  the  minds  of  the  young  is  saved 
from  prospective  expenditure  to  repress  or  punish  crime.  The  duty  of 
the  State  to  provide  means  for  the  education  of  its  children  does  not 
end  with  common  schools.  Higher  institutions  of  learning  cannot  be 
sustained  by  the  income  derived  from  the  pupils.  The}^  must  be  directly 
supported  by  the  Government,  or  largely  endowed  by  the  munificence  of 
individuals.  The  education  which  is  imparted  in  them  is  not  more  for 
the  benefit  of  those  who  are  taught  than  it  is  for  the  good  of  society; 
and  the  State  should  pi-ovide  the  kind  and  degree  of  instruction  which 
its  own  interests  demand.  The  university  should  not  be  absolutel}'  a 
free  school;  but  superior  education  should  be  placed  within  the  reach  of 
the  industrial  classes  by  the  liberality  of  the  State  at  such  rates  of 
tuition  that  the  poor  may  be  benefited  as  well  as  the  rich.  I  doubt  not, 
if  the  State  will  organize  such  an  institutution  on  an  adequate  basis,  that 
before  many  years  private  liberality  will  provide  scholarship  funds  for 
the  benefit  of  poor  students,  and  thereby  give  the  means  of  higher  edu- 
cation to  many  best  fitted  by  natural  gifts  to  receive  it,  but  who  would 
otherwise  be  debarred  by  poverty.  The  benefits  of  this  expenditure,  like 
bread  cast  upon  the  waters,  will  doubtles  return  tenfold  to  the  public 
wealth.  From  scientific  culture  springs  inquiry,  and  from  investigation, 
discovery.  Should  this  undertaking  produce  one  agricultural  chemist 
like  Leibig,  the  mere  material  advantages  resulting  from  increased  pro- 
duction would  far  outweigh  its  entire  cost.  Ancient  Egypt  i*aised  pyra- 
mids to  the  monarch  who  taught  his  people  to  cultivate  the  valley  of  the 
Nile,  and  profit  by  the  swellings  of  the  sacred  river.  But  what  monu- 
ment could  properly  attest  our  gratitude  to  him  who  should  give  to  fer- 
tility and  man  the  vast  tule  lands  of  this  State?  What  values  could 
estimate  our  gain,  or  the  measure  of  our  obligation  ?  Our  benefactor 
would  be  gone,  perchance  forgotten,  ere  the  magnitude  of  his  work  was 
half  comprehended.  In  the  brain  of  an  unknown  English  artisan  the 
steam  engine  was  begotten;  but  with  its  first  pulsation  Brittannia  started 
with  a  new  and  resistless  vigor  upon  her  unchecked  course  of  empire. 
The  cotton  gin,  the  invention  of  a  Connecticut  artisan,  had  well  nigh 
crowned  a  weed  the  king  of  the  world.  Humble  and  obscure  may  be 
the  hand  that  kindles  the  beacon  of  discovery,  but  it  is  the  world  that 
watches  the  rising  flame,  and  nations  that  read  and  profit  by  the  light. 
Observing  that  a  very  able  report  to  the  last  Legislature,  made  by 
the  State  Geologist  and  others,  objected  very  decidedly  to  an  experi- 


11 

mental  farm  in  connection  with  the  proposed  college,  I  requested  the 
opinion  of  the  officers  of  the  State  Agricultural  Society  as  to  the  kind  of 
institution  required,  and  as  to  the  propriety  and  feasibility  of  conducting 
agricultural  studies  oj;  experiments  without  such  experimental  farm. 
The  reply  of  Mr.  Hoag  was  in  confirmation  of  my  own  views: 

"  The  Act  of  Congress  donating  the  land  describes  the  very  kind  of 
institution  we  want  on  this  coast;  one  in  which  those  branches  of  learn- 
ing relating  to  agriculture  and  the  mechanic  arts  shall  have  prominence; 
in  which  the  education  of  the  student  shall  be  liberal  and  practical,  so 
that  he  shall  be  fully  prepared  to  successfully  undertake  the  several  pur- 
suits and  professions  of  life.  This  embraces  the  whole  scope  of  phj'sical 
and  exact  sciences  -,  for  all  are  required  in  prosecuting  and  particularly 
improving  agriculture  and  the  mechanic  arts.  Tbe^^  must  all  be  taught, 
and  taught  practically.  The  branches  of  learning  relating  to  agriculture 
can  be  thus  taught  only  in  an  institution  possessing  all  the  facilities  of 
an  extensive  laboratory,  for  an  examination  of  all  the  materials  of  which 
the  earth  is  composed,  and  for  an  analytical  examination  of  all  the  pro- 
ducts of  the  earth.  It  must  also  possess  the  facilities  of  testing  the  con- 
clusions drawn  from  experiments  in  the  laboratory,  by  applying  them 
directly  and  practicallj-  to  the  operations  of  the  farm,  where  the  chemical 
actions  are  performed  by  nature  herself  in  her  own  great  and  well 
aj)pointed  laboratory." 

Hence  an  experimental  farm  is  a  prime  necessity  to  such  an  institu- 
tion. The  value  of  experimental  farming  has  been  demonstrated  in 
France  under  the  patronage  of  the  Emperor,  who  has  done  more  for  the 
improvement  of  agriculture  and  rural  economy  during  the  last  ten  years, 
than  all  the  other  rulers  of  Europe.  In  addition  to  lectures  on  agricul- 
ture and  horticulture,  delivered  by  first  rate  men  in  the  Capital  and  in 
the  provinces,  agriculture  is  taught  by  precept  and  example  on  experi- 
mental farms,  with  excellent  results.  There  are  hundreds  of  agricul- 
tural schools  in  Europe,  some  wholly  sustained  by  Government,  others 
by  private  eftbrt,  and  some  by  the  two  united.  With  scarcely  an  excep- 
tion, whether  independent  schools  or  dependent  on  colleges  for  their 
teachers,  each  is  connected  with  a  farm.  The  great  advance  in  agricul- 
tural chemistry  in  Europe  is  due  to  the  constant  experiments  conducted 
in  these  institutions. 

The  valuable  results  produced  by  this  system  in  Europe  have  excited 
emulation  in  the  United  States;  but  from  a  variety  of  causes  such 
schools  have  not  been  so  numerous  or  well  sustained  here,  the  principal 
reason  being,  probably,  that  the  fertility,  abundance,  and  cheapness  of 
our  lands,  render  less  necessary  the  efforts  of  scientific  men  to  supply 
the  drain  on  the  resources  of  nature.  The  exuberant  productiveness  of 
our  domain,  far  excelling  the  capacity  of  artificial  stimulation,  and  the 
readiness  with  which  worn  farms  may  be  exchanged  for  virgin  soil, 
prevent  the  interest  that  would  be  otherwise  felt  in  agricultural  chem- 
istry. Yet  several  agricultural  schools,  under  the  patronage  of  State 
governments  and  private  liberality,  are  in  comparatively  successful  pro- 
gress, and  in  every  instance  in  connection  with  experimental  farms.  I 
must  confess  that  I  am  among  those  who  "  argue  that  an  agricultural 
school  would  be  an  absurdity  without  an  experimental  farm  attached." 
The  school  may  be  dispensed  with  from  considerations  of  its  cost,  incon- 
venience, or  doubtful  benefit;  but  if  it  is  established,  the  farm  is  an 
indispensable  auxiliary.     In  the  great  number  of  such  institutions  ia 


12 

Europe  and  the  United  States,  the  farm  has  been  considered  a  necessary 
aid  to  the  studies  and  experiments  pursued,  and  undouhtedly  was  in  the 
mind  of  Congress  when  the  grant  was  made,  for  it  authorized  the  expen- 
diture of  ten  per  cent  of  a  principal  fund,  otherwise  inviolable,  for  the 
purchase  of  land  for  such  a  farm.  * 

The  location  of  the  farm  should  determine  the  location  of  the  school. 
To  be  of  uny  use  to  the  school  for  practical  teaching  or  experiment,  it 
must  be  near  at  hand.  To  make  the  experiments  of  an^-  use  to  the 
farmers  of  the  State  generally,  the  farm  must  be  so  located  that  its  soil  shall 
be  a  medium  of  that  of  the  State,  its  climate  the  medium  of  the  climate 
of  the  State — not  in  the  fogs  and  winds  of  the  sea  coast,  the  greater  heat 
and  rarer  moisture  of  the  extreme  southern  part  of  the  State,  or  liable 
to  the  uncertain  climatic  changes  and  late  frosts  of  the  Sierras.  As  near 
as  possible,  convenience  of  access  should  be  considered,  and  a  point  on 
the  main  thoroughfares  of  travel  in  the  State  would  be  desirable,  if  it 
united  other  necessary  conditions.  Such  a  school,  under  the  patronage 
of  the  State,  its  reports  made  to  the  Legislature,  and  printed  bj'  the 
State  Printer,  embodying  a  statement  of  the  result  of  its  experiments, 
should  not  be  so  remote  from  the  Capital  but  that  the  representatives  of 
the  people  may  easily  visit  it,  and  see  for  themselves  its  practical  work- 
ings and  benefits,  that  the}'  may  legislate  intelligently  upon  its  interests, 
and  convey  correct  intelligence  of  it  to  their  constituents. 

Among  the  industrial  pursuits  of  the  State,  second  to  none  in  impor- 
tance, whether  judged  by  the  numbers  engaged  in  it,  or  its  contribution 
to  the  wealth  of  the  State,  is  the  business  of  mining;  not  that  kind  of 
mining  which  is  done  at  a  broker's  board,  where  speculators  play  with 
stocks  that  are  often  not  worth  the  paper  consumed  for  certificates.  The 
real  honest  mining  interest  of  the  State  needs  scientific  aid  to  develop 
and  guide  it.  A  knowledge  of  geology  applied  to  mining,  of  metallurgy, 
etc.,  would  be  of  vast  benefit,  and  save  many  foolish  enterprises  and 
much  waste.  A  professorship  in  the  branches  allied  to  mining  should  be 
instituted  in  the  Industrial  School,  with  facilities  for  teaching  geology, 
metallurgy,  and  practical  mining;  and  it  should  be  the  duty  of  the  Pro- 
fessor to  visit  the  mines  with  his  class,  and  teach  them  mining,  engineer- 
ing, and  surveying,  by  actual  work  on  the  ground.  The  advantage  to 
the  State  of  having  our  mining  engineers  and  metallurgists  trained  here 
in  a  practical  acquaintaince  with  the  conditions  and  processes  of  this 
coast  is  beyond  estimate,  and  an  ample  field  for  observation,  instruc- 
tion, and  experiment  is  open  to  them. 

Four  great  interests  should  work  harmoniously  together  in  the  future, 
for  the  benefit  of  this  State:  agriculture,  mining,  manufactures,  and 
commerce.  There  can  be  no  occasion  for  conflict  between  them,  or 
between  the  sections  of  the  State  which  thrive  by  them  respectively.  I 
so  insist,  because  the  attempt  is  made  to  persuade  the  agriculturists  that 
it  is  proper  to  encourage  a  jealousy  of  the  miners  and  mining  section. 
^Nothing  can  be  more  unwise  for  all  concerned.  The  mining  communi- 
ties furnish  ample  markets  for  the  products  of  the  farmer;  they  buy  his 
grain,  bis  fruits,  his  cattle,  and  pay  therefor  with  their  own  staple  pro- 
duct. The  greater  the  advance  of  the  mining  section  of  the  State,  the 
better  customers  are  its  people.  Hence  it  is  to  the  interest  of  the  val- 
leys to  promote  the  rugged  prosperity  of  the  hills.  So  the  miner  buj's 
bis  necessaries  more  cheaply  as  the  farmers  of  the  State  prosper  in  their 
useful  pursuit.  The  commercial  centres  have  an  advantage  in  fostering 
the  prosperity  of  the  interior,  whether  mining  or  agricultural,  because 
trade  is  thereby  enlarged.     AU  classes  should  be  proud  of  our  growing 


commerce,  and  glad  of  any  facilities  by  which  it  is  extended.  Our  State 
extends  over  so  large  an  area  that  it  binds  into  one  bundle  these  diversi- 
fied yet  concordan't  interests.  But  each  of  these  performs  its  part  in  • 
'Creating  the  prosperity  of  the  State,  and  each  has  a  concern  in  the  suc- 
cess and  stability  of  alb  Hence  political  or  social  jealousj'  should  be 
ignored.  That  man  is  an  enemy  to  the  State  who  stirs  up  such  jealousies 
for  any  ])urpose,  or  who  seeks  to  combine  one  interest  or  section  of  the 
State  against  any  other.  These  considerations  are  of  particular  impor- 
tance now  when  threatened  legislation  by  Congress  may  throw  the  prin- 
cipal business  of  the  mining  communities  of  this  coast  into  confusion, 
and  impede  the  production  of  gold  to  an  extent  disastrous  to  the  general 
welfare.  Airain,  if  the  facilities  afforded  by  such  an  institution  as  1  have 
indicated,  advance  mining  as  well  as  agricultural  interests,  1  desire  that 
you  farmers  ma}'  see  that  your  own  good  is  thereby  promoted  by  the 
extension  of  your  markets,  and  greater  demand  for  your  products. 

I  concur  in  the  suggestion  of  the  report  referred  to,  that  it  is  better 
for  the  State  University  to  select  portions  of  the  great  field  of  science 
not  now  cultivated  herej  that  it  ought  not  to  invade  the  domain  of  col- 
leges now  established  Our  common  schools  and  colleges  will  furnish 
the  necessary  training  to  fit  the  scholar  for  the  practical  and  scientific 
courses  to  which  the  university  should  be  confined.  In  the  university 
there  should  be  pnjfessorships  of  practical  agriculture,  botany,  and  vege- 
table physioloL'^y ;  geology,  and  mineralogy;  zoology,  and  animal  physi- 
olog}^ ;  general  and  agricultural  chemistry;  mining,  and  metallurgy; 
mechanics,  and  engineering;  drawing,  and  design;  mathematics,  and 
astronomy;  military  tactics,  and  engineering.  Such  an  institution  can 
only  be  sustained  by  the  large  annual  expense  to  the  State  which  I  have 
indicated — ^a  large  expenditure,  but  one  that  would  add  to  the  future 
development,  wealth,  and  distinction  of  the  State  beyond  the  power  of 
figures  to  estimate. 

1  have  purposely  avoided  minor  details  in  this  sketch,  for  the  reason 
that  the}'  are  better  settled  b}-  experts,  and  their  treatment  is  inconsis- 
tent with  the  limits  or  proprieties  of  a  popular  address.  But  there  is 
one  limitation  in  the  Act  of  Congress  making  the  donation  of  land  which 
is  of  great  importance — that  military  tactics  shall  be  included  in  the 
studies  of  the  university.  Military  discij)line  and  drill  have  no't  occupied 
a  sufficiently  prominent  place  in  our  educational  system.  We  have 
learned  within  the  past  few  ^^ears  the  importance  of  this  branch  of  edu- 
cation, and  military  schools  have  increased  in  number  and  popularity. 
We  were  totally  unprepared  for  the  late  war,  and  to  appearance  devoid 
of  military  spirit.  Aside  from  the  superior  efficienc}^  our  arms  would 
have  had  eivrly  in  the  war  if  the  volunteers  had  had  a  preparatory  mili- 
tary training,  the  effect  of  the  display  of  that  martial  spirit  by  the 
North,  which  is  best  exhibited  by  a  people  educated  to  arms,  would  have 
gone  far  toward  deterring  the  ambitious  leaders  of  secession  from 
plunging  into  civil  war;  perhaps  would  have  saved  the  sacrifice  of  hun- 
dreds of  thousan<ls  of  lives  and  thousands»of  millions  of  treasui"T3.  It  is 
not  necessarj'  to  keej)  a  large  standitjg  army  to  be  prepared  for  war.  The 
same  result  may  be  reached  by  educating  the  ))eople  in  the  use  of  arms, 
so  that  efficient  volunteer  forces  may  be  organized  at  the  sudden  call  of 
the  country.  Great  military  leaders  are  more  likely  to  be  developed  by 
training  in  the  National  Military  Academy  ;  but  the  masses  of  the  peopla 
may  be  transmuted  into  efficient  soldiers  in  a  fewyears  by  teaching  mili- 
t.ir}'  tactics  and  engineering  in  our  schools.  Boys  will  take  naturally  to 
this  kind  of  instruction.     It  will   furnish   a  pleasant  change  Irom  ordi- 


14 

nary  studies;  and  they  will  delight  in  learning  the  use  of  arms,  company 
and  battalion  evolutions,  and  in  observing  discipline.  These  are  the  ele- 
ments of  successful  soldiery.  By  means  of  them,  implanted  by  the 
instruction  of  our  schools  and  colleges,  our  youth  ma}'  be  so  trained  that 
when  another  war  shall  threaten  or  assail  our  land,  the  call  for  volun- 
teers* will  rally  to  our  standard,  not  a'mass  of  raw  recruits,  soldiers  only 
in  spirit,  but  intelligent,  enthusiastic,  drilled  masses  of  troops,  scarcely 
inferior  to  a  regular  army  in  efficiency,  and  superior  to  it  in  moral  char- 
acteristics. 

I  have  treated  this  subject  in  its  practical  aspect,  as  the  occasion 
seemed  to  demand.  To  manj^,  the  emploj-ment  of  large  sums  of  money 
to  organize  and  maintain  such  an  institution  will  seem  useless  expendi- 
ture. It  may  also  be  urged  with  force  that  the  State  is  already  largely 
burdened  with  debt,  and  should  practice  strict  and  even  parsimonious 
econom}',  until  its  debts  are  paid.  There  is  an  element  of  truth  in  the 
latter  objection,  and  perhaps  enough  to  determine  the  Legislature 
against  the  enterprise.  But  I  believe  the  real  interest  of  the  State,  even 
its  monetary  prosperity,  will  be  so  greatly  advanced  by  the  successful 
workings  of  such  an, institution,  that  the  return  will  be  manifold  above 
the  expenditure.  We  cannot  afford  to  neglect  any  means  of  improve- 
ment on  this  coast.  We  have  capacities  for  development  here  far  ex- 
ceeding the  most  ambitious  statement.  Our  mines  are  practically 
exbaustless,  and  will  be  liberal  of  wealth  on  full  development.  Our 
geographical  position,  aided  by  rapid  communication  across  the  conti- 
nent, will  make  tributary  to  us  that  vast  commerce  now  awaiting  inlet, 
and  which  flows  as  naturally  in  currents  as  rivers  run  to  the  sea,  wher- 
ever it  flows  depositing  riches.  The  caravans  that  traversed  the  East, 
carrying  the  trade  of  the  Orient  to  the  Mediterranean,  built  cities  of 
palaces,  and  made  empires  great  in  power  and  opulence.  Our  agricul- 
tural domain  lies  open  to  enterprise,  and  is  capable  of  feeding  the 
thronging  millions  who  will  inherit  this  fair  empire.  Our  mountain 
streams  await  the  busy  machinery  that-vvill  ply  upon  their  banks;  and 
all  the  great  industries  that  maintain  powerful  communities  will  be  set 
in  motion  here  to  meet  the  necessities  of  the  growing  future.  With  such 
a  destiny  before  our  State,  shall  we  neglect  the  means  that  will  guide 
these  results  to  the  happiest  consummation,  and  make  those  who  come 
after  us  worthy  of  their  inheritance,  and  able  to  secure  it  ?  Shall  scien- 
tific knowledge  be  the  only  essential  element  of  success  that  we  shall 
not  possess?  Or  shall  we  be  content  with  sending  a  few  of  our  children 
to  the  East  or  to  Europe  to  procure  the  necessary-  instruction  which  our 
indifference  or  false  economy  denies  them  at  home?  Such  is  not  the 
true  policy  for  this  State.  \Ve  should  attract  men  of  culture  and  expe- 
rience. We  should  secure  original  thinkers,  men  of  genius,  men  of 
research,  to  teach  our  youth  and  stimulate  and  guide  the  development 
of  our  resources.  That  we  may  not  lack  advanced  minds  to  lead  in  the 
race  of  progress,  we  should  aim  to  develop  intellect  and  true  manhood 
here.  It  is  better  to  exhaust  all  our  wealth  than  to  let  the  public  heart 
decay  or  the  public  mind  become  attenuated.  That  State  is  greatest, 
though  poor,  where  man  is  noblest,  where  labor  is  intelligent  and  free, 
and  dignified  with  virtue. 

*'  '  Tis  Tonr's  to  jndjre  how  wide  the  limits  stand 
Between  a  splendid  and  a  happy  land." 

This  age  is  marked  b}-  the  progression  of  thought,  and  we  must  not 
be  content  to  remain  outside  of  the  current.     3Iore  is  required  of  public 


15 

and  private  liberality  now  than  ever  before  to  build  up  noble  institutions 
of  learning,  and  more  is  conceded  in  other  enlightened  communities. 
Our  State  is  old  enough  to  undertake  this  duty,  perhaps  too  long 
deferred,  and  secure  to  its  children  the  advantages  which  are  elsewhere 
deetned  of  leading  necessity.  To  do  so  is  true  economy,  for  it  is  wise 
provision  for  the  future. 

To  the  a2;riculturist  the  future  of  this  State  is  full  of  encouragement 
and  bright  with  hope.  Lured  to  these  shores  by  dreams  of  sudden  for- 
tune, he  found  the  blind  goddess  fickle  and  coy  in  his  search  for  the 
grains  of  gold,  but  kind  and  constant  when  he  wooed  her  through  the 
golden  grain;  and  he  has  discovered  that  in  the  rich  loam  of  these  val- 
leys he  has  exhaustless  treasuries.  From  the  lowlands  the  farmer  is 
invading  the  mountains — the  footiiills  he  has  long  since  taken  with  his 
countless  herds  of  sheep— while  like  emeralds  the  little  valleys  gleam 
amid  the  hills,  the  brightest  gems  of  the  mountains.  He  guides  the 
torrents  from  tlieir  rocky  beds  to  the  parched  hills,  and  they  return  to 
him  in  streams  of  ruby  wine;  and  fruitful  orchards  and  smiling  vine- 
yards nestle  at  the  verj^feetof  the  granite  Sierras.  With  a  soil  of  every 
variety,  with  the  climate  of  every  zone,  with  the  children  of  every  land, 
with  a  population  whose  enterprise  knows  no  limit,  and  their  energy  no 
obstacle,  he  ma^^  without  regret  bid  adieu  to  the  golden  daj^s  of  the 
past,  in  whicli  folly,  recklessness,  and  crime,  the  wild  offspring  of  sudden 
wealth,  ruled  the  mad  hour.  He  may  turn  from  this  to  the  bright  dawn 
of  that  golden  future  in  which  California  shall  lay  anew  the  foundations 
of  true  prosperity';  shall  build  upon  the  sure  basis  of  exhaustless  agri- 
cultural resources  with  patient,  intelligent  industry,  the  empire  of  the 
farmer,  to  endure  while  there  shall  be  seedtime  and  harvest,  and  while 
the  earth  shall  bring  forth  her  increase.  Farmers  of  California,  this  it 
is  your  high  mission  to  accomplish.  Let  us  all,  of  every  pursuit  and 
profession,  strive  to  be  worthy  our  part  in  the  lot  of  this  great  nation, 
which  has  passed  through  the  fierce  fires  of  civil  war  to  emerge  purified, 
ennobled,  and  strengthened;  pu-rified  of  slavery  which  chained  industrial 
millions;  ennobled  by  the  great  act  of  justice  that  estal)lished  liberty; 
and  strengthened  by  the  closer  knitted  bonds  of  union  that  war  could 
not  sever. 


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